Did Rashida Tlaib convert campaign funds for personal use?

Did you know you can be paid to be a candidate?

Rashida (MOFO) Tlaib, former Michigan Sate Representative from the 13th district and now congress critter sensua de-luxe was on the payroll of her own campaign.  As if she was a staffer, the guttural grandstander received wages to be a candidate.

And it was completely legit.   To a point.  As explained in a fairly recent ethics probe candidates need to eat too:

The Federal Election Commission (“FEC”) explained that “payment of a salary to a candidate is not a prohibited personal use as defined under Commission regulations since, but for the candidacy, the candidate would be paid a salary in exchange for services rendered to an employer.” See Using Contributions to Pay Salaries to Candidates, 67 Fed. Reg. 76961, 76971-73 (Dec. 13, 2002). In reaching this conclusion, the FEC explained: “[B]ecause many candidates must forego salary in order to conduct the business of the campaign, a candidate who is dependent on an income is put at a severe disadvantage compared to an incumbent who is free to campaign at all times without any reduction in compensation or to an affluent challenger, who can afford to campaign without receiving any compensation.” Id. at 76971. Put differently, “candidates without significant resources might not be able to forgo salary payments in order to run for Federal office.”

Thus a social worker who couldn’t work her regular job was introduced to an overflowing campaign kitty.

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